Auburn WRs looking to erase school’s bad draft history with receivers

Updated Mar 01, 2019; Posted Mar 01, 2019

AP

Auburn wide receiver Darius Slayton (81) catches a pass ahead of Purdue cornerback Dedrick Mackey (1) as Slayton scores a touchdown on a 74-yard pass completion in the first half of the Music City Bowl NCAA college football game Friday, Dec. 28, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Darius Slayton doesn’t remember the last time an Auburn wide receiver entered the NFL as a first-round pick.

Then again, he wasn’t even alive.

It happened a generation ago, and the historical footnote comes with an asterisk. After all, Chris Woods was selected by the Los Angeles Raiders with the 28th choice of the 1984 supplemental draft. He would go on to play 12 games in the NFL and make one catch.

For as much as Auburn has churned out great running backs and defensive players over the years, it has a poor track record of producing quality wide receivers.

“That is surprising,” said Slayton, a speedy outside threat who played three seasons with the Tigers. “Considering the Auburn history, it is.”

Perhaps.

But in the context of the most recent era of Auburn football, it makes some sense. The Tigers don’t run a pro-style offense and the prescribed route tree given to certain receivers on Auburn’s roster doesn’t necessarily resemble the one they’ll have at the next level, as Ryan Davis explained Friday.

“I know there were a lot of things I wasn’t able to do at Auburn, I wasn’t able to showcase.” said Davis, a flanker who was a jack-of-all-trades with the Tigers. “I was kind of asked to do certain things. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t capable of doing other things. Me being a team player, I was just doing what I was asked to do.”

At the preliminary practices at the East-West Shrine game in January, Davis made a pointed effort to prove he had more in his arsenal than what was documented on game tape. He executed a few deep digs and posts — patterns he said he wasn’t asked to carry out much during his tenure on The Plains.

“A lot of people say the Auburn system is simplistic,” Slayton acknowledged. “That comes with the criticism. The reality is we run a lot of plays and a lot of routes that a lot of teams run.”

The terminology though is different and more rudimentary. Even Slayton conceded the NFL playcalls he’s been asked to memorize on the spot and regurgitate in front of scouts are considerably more complex than the ones he was asked to learn at Auburn.

It has led to more questions about how Gus Malzahn’s no-huddle, Shotgun-heavy system develops skill-position players for the next level.

And the track record of the receivers the program has produced during his tenure has only fueled the skepticism.

After all, Sammie Coates and Ricardo Louis are the only wideouts who have been drafted since Malzahn was appointed the head coach in 2013.

Both were mid-round picks and each has faced their share of adversity since entering the NFL. Coates has bounced around the league in recent years while Louis’ career has been derailed, in part, by injuries.

“Me and Darius Slayton definitely want to change that narrative,” Davis said. “Also the guys that are also in the NFL want to change that narrative as well and be able to show that, yes, Auburn does have great receivers. Maybe the offense doesn’t present itself to show those talents or shows the abilities, but I definitely want to take charge of [the idea] Auburn does have receivers.”

Based on how they were presented to the media Friday during the NFL scouting combine, Slayton figures to have the better chance to achieve that goal. He was positioned at a podium while Davis was relegated to a side table, where only a few reporters gathered around him.

According to NFL.com, Slayton is the 15th-best receiver in the draft while Davis, who caught more passes than any player in Tigers history, is ranked No. 46 at his position. That means another year will go by without an Auburn wideout being taken in the first round.

But if both Davis and Slayton land in the league, they will at least be in position to defy their skeptics.

“Auburn does have receivers,” Davis said. “ I know things I am capable of doing. I definitely want to keep showing that and prove to people that Auburn has great talent.”